Hunters for the Hungry Provides Opportunity to Help Those Less Fortunate

Dec. 11, 2012 -- If you are an outdoorsman or woman experiencing success during this hunting season, you have an opportunity to pass on some of that bounty to hungry families around the state. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is encouraging hunters to donate harvested game, specifically deer and hogs, to Hunters for the Hungry (HFH).

“The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries recognizes that fostering such a program for donation and economic processing of surplus game meat advances objectives of the North American model of Conservation by helping maintain a strong base of hunters for game harvesting management and facilitating effective hunter compliance with existing regulation that prohibits the wasting of edible portions of game,” said Jimmy Anthony, LDWF’s assistant secretary for the Office of Wildlife.

HFH has enlisted the support of game processors around the state who will accept and process your game at no cost to you or the families who will benefit. You as a donor only need to bring in your harvested deer or hog to a participating processor, field-dressed in advance, and they handle the rest. You can elect to keep the backstrap and tenderloin, and donate the rest of the edible meat. There is no cost to you even if you select this option.

"We are excited and proud of the generous support LDWF is providing this very worthy program,” said Richard Campbell, head of the statewide HFH network. “With their cooperation, we hope to cover the entire state, thereby sharing the bounty of our natural resources with those less fortunate."

If you own a wild game processing business and want to become part of this program, contact an LDWF Private Lands biologist at any of these Wildlife Division field offices,Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except holidays:

Monroe ph. 318-343-4044

Minden ph. 318-371-3050

Pineville ph. 318-487-5885

Lake Charles ph. 337-491-2575

Hammond ph. 985-543-4777

Opelousas ph. 337-948-0255

Baton Rouge ph. 225-765-2346

Hunters for the Hungry began in 1994 when a group of Baton Rouge area hunters gathered in an effort to support the needy in the Greater Baton Rouge area. The HFH concept became part of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank’s Lagniappe du Coeur (Extra from the Heart) program that is Louisiana’s first prepared and perishable food rescue program. HFH today supports the Food Bank through a “Clean Out Your Freezer Day” in September and the “Freshly-Harvested Game Program” that runs throughout the hunting season.

LDWF is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov[5], and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb[6]or follow us on Twitter @LDWF.